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Fall tomatoes
By David Coltrain Agriculture Agent Walnut Creek Extension District Tomatoes are most gardeners favorite crop. The taste of homegrown tomatoes just can't be beat. Many gardeners have reported growing better tomatoes this year than last year, but I have also heard complaints from some people that their tomatoes did not do well this year. Temperatures cooperated for the most part since tomatoes will not set fruit when it is too hot. Temperatures that remain above 75 degrees F at night and day temperatures above 95 degrees F with dry, hot winds will cause poor fruit set. High temperatures interfere with pollen viability and/or cause excessive style growth leading to a lack of pollination. Some of August did have high temperatures and I will address that more later in the column. The increased precipitation this year was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because most of the year, tomatoes did not need extra water. A curse because high humidity causes more fungal disease problems like septoria leaf spot and blights along with bacterial diseases. Diseases are likely the main culprit if tomatoes did not do as well as hoped. Increased precipitation also contributes to tomato cracking caused by pressure inside the fruit that is more than the skin can handle. Cracks are usually on the upper part of the fruit and can be concentric (in concentric circles around the stem) or radial (radiating from the stem). Now let's look a little closer at what to do with tomatoes it you still have healthy vines growing in September. (If your vines are dead or nearly that way, I am afraid all you can do is try again next year.) The high temperatures in August likely caused a tomato "drought" in mid September. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about this but wait. Cooler temperatures will allow flowers to resume fruit set. In good growing conditions, tomatoes take about 40 days from flowering until tomatoes are ripe enough to pick. In cooler conditions like what normally happens in September, that can stretch out even more. Healthy tomato plants enjoy weather like we have been experiencing and are probably blooming quite profusely. The problem becomes how much energy should plants be putting into flowering and how much energy should they put into maturing the fruits already set on that can be harvested before frosts and freezes occur. Here are suggestions to get the most tomatoes from your plants this fall. About mid September, cut off the top vegetative growth and the end of September cut off any flowers still yellow or not yet bloomed. This keeps plants from wasting energy on tomatoes that likely would never mature before freezing temperatures. Be sure and watch the weather for early frost forecasts. Normally, a few days bring freezing weather, but then it warms up again. If the forecast calls for a frost, cover plants with blankets that can provide protection of about four degrees. When hard freezes are forecasted, pick all the green tomatoes, wait a few days to see if you have any bad ones and then wrap them in newspapers and store them at room temperature. Check weekly for tomatoes starting to color and let them continue to ripen at room temperatures. I normally have tomatoes until around Christmas every year. They are not quite as good as tomatoes picked during summertime, but acceptable. The September Green Thumb News newsletter is now available and contains a Garden Calendar and 13 articles with information on Vegetables, Trees, Lawn Care, and Flowers. If you would like to receive a copy and be on the monthly mailing list, please e-mail me at coltrain@ksu.edu or call the LaCrosse Extension office at 800-460-9079. Date: 10/8/07
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